posted at 8:01 am on February 17, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

Travelers on a flight from Addis Ababa to Rome got a rude awakening earlier today — as did its pilot. When the captain of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 got out of the cockpit to use the restroom, his co-pilot locked him out and took control of the plane. Instead of Rome, the co-pilot flew to Geneva, Switzerland, where he landed, climbed out of the cockpit using a rope, and asked for asylum:

An Ethiopian Airlines plane destined for Rome was forced to land early Monday in Geneva, where the hijacker was arrested, authorities said.

Police later said the hijacker was a co-pilot who surrendered and asked for asylum. They said the co-pilot locked the cockpit door and grabbed control of the plane when the pilot went to the bathroom.

According to Robert Deillon, Director of Geneva International Airport, the co-pilot left the plane by climbing out of a cockpit window and lowering himself down on a rope, where he was greeted by police.

It’s a bizarre case, but not entirely without precedent. One parallel would be to the mysterious end of Egypt Air 990 crash in 1999. In that incident, the NTSB concluded that the first officer had attempted to seize control of the aircraft. The crash resulted from the two pilots struggling over the controls, and that it was likely that the first officer was attempting to commit suicide by crashing the plane. Just a few months later, another Egypt Air pilot sought asylum in London after landing his plane there, claiming to have knowledge of the EA990 crash (which was that the co-pilot had been demoted by an executive on that particular flight).

This time, the intent was more benign. It’s not clear what the co-pilot was seeking asylum from as of yet. The CIA World Factbook gives a fairly rosy picture of Ethiopia, a multiparty parliamentary republic which has been relatively peaceful for several years and which just had its first peaceful transition of power in decades.

The Swiss took him into custody, but aren’t saying much. Neither is Ethiopian Air. Perhaps the passengers will have more to say later, but the airline is trying to get them a flight to Rome, and understandably quickly.

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I have worked there over the last 10 years. Since the election in 2005, the government has locked things up pretty tight. Opposition party members locked up or disappeared. No real freedom of speech. Democracy on paper only.

But we have strategic interests there (e.g., drone bases to watch over Somalia; the Ethiopian Army helps against the Somali version of Al Qaida; etc.) and the US doesn’t seem to want to rock the boat.

So, if the pilot was participating in any opposition party activities, or speaking out, he would be in fear of being imprisoned.

The real story here is not the events themselves. I found out on Twitter, listened to the air traffic control tower radio myself, and saw it through to the resolution before any media outlet ever picked up the story. All information reported and shared by amateurs. The angle here should be New vs Dinosaur Media.

The Swiss recently voted by referendum – politicians hate it when pesky voters take control – to restrict immigration, thus going against the traditional sucker-heartedness and overall insanity of liberal Europeans. But they also need to make it clear that they don’t accept criminal asylum seekers.

And more importantly, why, instead of walking out the door to the waiting authorities, did have to open a window and shimmy down a rope?

HugoDrax on February 17, 2014 at 10:40 AM

Because if he had opened the door from the cockpit, the crew could have subdued him and he wouldn’t have been on Swiss soil. The thinking (rightly or wrongly) is that if he’s captured on the plane, then he’s just a hijacker; if he’s caught on Swiss soil, then he’s a refugee.

The rope he used is an emergency escape device for the pilots to get out of a burning aircraft if the path to a regular exit is blocked. No real “pattern” except that he evidently desperately wanted to put his feet on Swiss soil so he could claim asylum.

This demonstrates pretty conclusively the absurdity of the TSA patting down the flight crew and taking away their nail clippers.

Hayabusa on February 17, 2014 at 1:24 PM

Sadly, the TSA will point to this and say, “See? This is why we treat the crew just like everyone else. They could have nefarious designs, too!”